1.11 There is, etc.




There is corresponds to Catalan hi ha and is used in a similar way. There are obviously different verb forms, e.g.:



Form Example

Present singular

There is

Present plural

There are

Past singular

There was

Past plural

There were

used to

There used to be

Present perfect singular

There has been

Present perfect plural

There have been

Past perfect

There had been

will/would

There will be

going to

There is going to be

may/might

There may/might be

could/should

There could/should be

may/might + have + past participle

There may/might have been

could/should + have + past participle

There could/should have been


There isn't any butter in the fridge.
(No hi ha mantega a la nevera.)
Were there any flowers on the table?
(Hi havia flors sobre la taula?)
There used to be a cinema here.
(Abans hi havia un cinema aquí.)
There might be some water in the system.
(Pot ser que hi hagi aigua dins del sistema.)
If it had rained, there would have been even more problems.
(Si hagués plogut, hi hauria hagut encara més problemes.)


As distinct from Catalan, we use there for a number of people, e.g.:



There were 12 of us/them at the party.
(Érem/Eren 12 a la festa.)



See also there and it contrasted.